The invention relates to a fabric selection system, more particularly, the invention relates to a system which allows a user to quickly and easily visualize an item as if it were constructed using a particular fabric, to allow the user to effectively choose between fabrics prior to fabrication of the item.
In both furniture and clothing design, the physical design of the item is only the beginning. Once the shape or configuration is determined, the fabric must be selected. Considering both natural and synthetic fabrics available, plain as well as printed, textured as well as smooth, thousands of fabric choices are available. The same article of clothing can look infinitely different when simply the fabric is switched. Similarly, home furnishings can be take on a completely different look alone and within its environment by changing the fabric.
In order to select fabric for an article, the best visualization of that fabric by a retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, or consumer can be achieved when one has an actual sample or model of the article made using that fabric. However, making numerous models or samples of the same article requires considerable labor and material expense. In addition, with many articles such as furniture, having numerous examples of the same article of furniture can require considerable storage space.
Typically then, when selecting the fabric for clothing or home furnishing, the designer or the consumer relies on xe2x80x9cswatchesxe2x80x9d. A swatch is a relatively small sample of the fabric which is large enough to allow the color, texture, and pattern of the fabric to be seen. Unfortunately, this xe2x80x9cswatch-basedxe2x80x9d system of fabric selection does not allow the consumer or designer to fully visualize the fabric in use with the intended item.
Accordingly, many consumers are not willing to purchase an item using a swatch, because they know that they might be disappointed when they actually see the item in the chosen fabric after the item has already been manufactured. In addition, many designers xe2x80x9cshy awayxe2x80x9d from more exotic fabrics, because they fear wasting expensive material when they can""t fully visualize the finished product.
Others have proposed devices which seek to display and allow experimentation with different combinations of colors and patterns. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.
It is an object of the invention to produce a fabric selection system which allows a user to visualize an item with a selected fabric as if the item were already manufactured using that fabric. Accordingly, the system superimposes the selected fabric within an image of the item such that the user can easily visualize the item in conjunction with the selected fabric.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a fabric selection system which allows the fabric to be visualized in conjunction with the item alone. Accordingly, the outline of the item defines a window through which the fabric may be fully visualized. Outside that window, the fabric may be partially or fully obscured.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fabric selection system wherein intersecting three-dimensional planes, contours, and interior details of the item are defined. Accordingly, various features of the item are depicted within the window with object lines. xe2x80x9cIt is another object of the invention to provide a fabric selection system which does not influence the selection of fabric colors. Accordingly, the object lines are silver metallic in color. The silver metallic colored object lines allows the planes of the item to be delineated, without influencing the appearance of the underlying fabricxe2x80x94even in the case of dark fabrics. By a preferred embodiment, the silver metallic colored object lines are made of metallic foil which is heat-pressed using a die in the shape of the object lines of the item.xe2x80x9d
The invention is a fabric selection system, for allowing a user to visualize an item as if it were fabricated using any of numerous selected fabric samples, comprising a carrier. A graphic representation of the item is imprinted on the carrier, having object lines which include an outline and object lines which depict interior details of the item. The object lines are silver metallic in color and may be heat transferred using metal foil and a die in the shape of the object lines. The outline defines a window which is transparent so that when the carrier is held over one of the selected fabric samples, the selected fabric sample may be viewed through the window so that the item can be visualized in conjunction with that fabric sample. The carrier has a background area outside of the outline which is less than transparent so as to at least partially obscure the selected fabric sample so that the user can focus upon the selected fabric sample in conjunction with the item.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the claims.